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African Ministers of Economy, Finance and Planning call for bold action to tackle the financial crisis
Joint AU/ECA Press Release
Addis Ababa, 10 June 2009 –Africa must take “bold and swift” action in order to cushion the impact of the financial and economic crisis currently affecting the continent.
The call came in a ministerial statement issued at the end of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Finance and Economy; and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, which was held from 6 – 7 June in Cairo, Egypt.
The Egyptian Minister of Finance, Dr. Youssef Boutros Ghali, said the consensus would help Africa speak with one voice at international conferences. He stated that although African countries have different challenges and views on many issues, all had one common goal. “We are a rich continent that needs to be exploited with our policies, and our issues, and the international community need to support us on our terms,” he said.
The African Union Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Mr. Maxwell Mkwezalamba, said Africa needs to engage with the G20 and international financial institutions to determine how much extra resources would be disbursed to the continent following agreements reached at the London G20 Summit.
United Nations Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, said the economic crisis is a setback, but also an opportunity for innovation, self reliance, and practical solutions. He thanked the ministers for their endorsement of the 2010-2011 ECA programme of work.
The ministerial statement reaffirms commitments to “deepen economic reforms, strengthen regulation of financial institutions, harmonise fiscal and monetary policies, improve governance and accountability, diversy export structures, make more judicious use of public revenue and improve debt management.”
The statement also addresses issues of climate change, regional integration, millennium development goals, a charter on statistics, international trade and the African Investment Bank. They also welcomed the United Nations General Assembly decision to convene the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in 2011.
The full statement is available on www.uneca.org; and www.africa-union.org.
jointly issued by:
The ECA Information and Communication Service PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826 Fax: +251 11 551 0365 E-mail: ecainfo@uneca.org Web: www.uneca.org and
The African Union Communication and Information Division (DCI)
PO Box 3243 Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 77 00 Ext. 236 +251 11 551 45 55
Fax: +251 11 551 12 99 E-mail: dinfo@africa-union.org Web: www.africa-union.org Related Articles
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